Thursday, October 4, 2007

Wow! I got the best birthday present today! I had an afternoon appointment with my surgeon and got the "all clear" results from my latest CT Scan. Hallelujah! What a great relief! I had the scan two weeks ago and have been waiting patiently. Always a bit of a challenge! This is the second clear scan since my RFA procedure in March. Looking good! Interestingly... my liver resection surgery was three years ago on my 47th birthday. Must be my lucky day!

So much to be thankful for this week...

Blessings... Rob; in Vancouver

"Just to be is a blessing; just to live is holy." Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

On the day that I was born... international history was made by the Russian launch of Sputnik I and the beginning of the “space age”. Sputnik I was the first artificial satellite to be put into geocentric orbit. Sputnik I traveled 60 million kilometers before burning up on re-entry on January 4, 1958. Not bad for a little fella!! On the day that I was born... Arkansas was embroiled in a great civil rights conflict over the integration of Central High School in nearby Little Rock. In early September of 1957 Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus deployed the Arkansas National guard to prevent nine African American high school students from attending Central High. President Dwight Eisenhower subsequently “federalized” the National Guard and deployed the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army to escort the students, now known as the “Little Rock Nine”, to their classes. The desegregation of Central High was one of the pivotal battles in the American Civil Rights Movement. Opposition to desegregation was so strong in Arkansas that the State Legislature cancelled the whole 58/59 school year at Little Rock High Schools. I guess they figured that “no school” was preferable to “integrated schools”.

On the day that I was born... the very first episode of “Leave it to Beaver” aired on CBS Television. Baby Boomer kids are now well identified as a TV “market” by the major networks. Wow! How cool is that!

Wow… what a wonderful world!! And what a wonderful life I’ve had… so far…

Turning 50… Rob; in Vancouver

“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.” Abe Lincoln

Welcome

In 2004 I was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer. This blog was created in 2007, during which time I was being treated for a recurrence. Now, in 2012, I am in treatment for a persistent recurrence in my sacrum.In here you will find personal stories, reflections, inspiring videos, great music, and cancer humour.Blessings...Rob

Merton In Asia

I started a blog to explore the life and legacy of 20th Century author and Trappist monk Thomas Merton. In particular, I looked at his journey to Asia in 1968 and viewed his published journals from that period as a window on his life and message.